Why??

If you are exercising 5-6 days a week and only eating 1200 calories, you aren't eating enough. You need to eat more to lose weight. I know it doesn't sound logical, but it's true. Twelve-hundred calories a day is what is recommended for a small woman, who does nothing but sit around all day, and has very little weight to lose.

I give all new members one piece of advice and it's this,"Don't look at good health or weight loss with an all or nothing mentality". if the only healthy thing you did for yourself today was drink 8 glasses of water, that's still a step in the right direction.

Remember, you're trying to change habits learned over a life time. that's not going to happen overnight, a week, a month or even a year. Change takes time, thus the need to be patient with yourself and your body. Take baby steps literally and figuratively.

Set some simple goals first. Example, if you're not eating 6-9 servings of fresh fruit and veggies, set a goal to eat 2-3 servings each day for one week. If you're not drinking 8 glasses of water, set a goal to drink 2-3 glasses each day for one week. If you're not getting any exercise, don't try to exercise for an hour a day, set a goal to take a 30 minute walk each day for one week. once you've achieved these goals, then you set new ones.

And that's how good health starts. it's not all or nothing. it's all about making some simple changes we CAN stick with. So, stop beating yourself up because you're not perfect. No one ever became a healthy eater overnight. start with some simple changes first.

Know what's even better then losing weight? Feeling better, living longer, having energy, knowing I won't get diabetes, heart disease or kidney failure. Knowing I'll be here to see my grand kids get married.

I know it can be discouraging when the scale doesn't move. But remember the bigger goal.

Then shake it up. Track every bite and workout. Run the numbers on here. Change up your exercise. Try eating every 2 hours, try adding more fruits and veggies.

One thing that is helping me get past the "water weight" problem is that I started seriously tracking my sodium. I still go over some, but not as often, and I DO SEE the effect on my scale! Hmmmm....!! I also started really focusing on balancing my Carb/Fat/Protein ratios, so that is making my meals healthier.

Hang in thar... BELIEVE, and TRUST yourself!! you WILL do this!!

THANKS for the article referral, Dragonchilde on the effects of more exercise on muscle/water weight. I just read it too, so I'm learning by reading other folks' issues!!

Are you spacing your meals and portion sizes? The only reason I've seen a weight change in the last 3 days is bceause I went cold turkey on sweet and sugary snacks and soda. Completely cut it out. Yeah I feel tired now but drinking more water. IT can take a while to lose weight I've tried bfore and before it took me a while to lose the first pound. Don't give up hope.

It takes time to lose weight. Our weight is not a static number; it's a vital sign, like your blood pressure or your body temperature. It will shift based on your activity level, the amount of sleep you get, hormones, sodium levels, and more! That's why you look at your progress over the course of weeks, not days; individual days can show gains/losses of as much as 10 lbs in a single 24 hour period, but that's not fat gain/loss.

It takes 3500 calories to make a pound of fat. You didn't gain 2 lbs of fat in 3 days unless you ate 7000 calories OVER maintenance!

If you're gaining weight, likely your body is holding on to extra water to compensate for the extra activity you're throwing at it. This is normal, and temporary:

It can take as much as 6-8 weeks for healthy lifestyle changes to show up on the scale. Give it time, and trust the process. If you are looking and feeling better, why in the world would you stop caring just because the scale isn't perfect? It's the least important measure of progress you have.

I am wondering why you're eating only 1200 calories if you're exercising that often, though. That may not be enough for your activity level!

I have been on a diet and it does good for 2 days(water weight) and then weight stops falling off. I have been trying to do it right(eat 1200 cal-exercise 5-6days a week) but right now I just want to stop exercising and stop eating altogether I made a change to loose weight and all i did was gain 5lbs in 2 weeks. I woke up this morning so excited to weight myself because I did good and surprise!, you gained 2 more lbs in 3 days! really........I thought I was looking better and doing better for myself- i just dont care anymore..

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